Funding retirement top issue for Canadian moms

Despite the advantages, 40 percent of Canadian moms say they or their family do not have a financial plan.

In advance of Mother’s Day, a new survey reveals that the ability to afford an ideal retirement (83 percent) and having enough money to fund children's education (67 percent) are the top concerns of moms.

BMO Nesbitt Burns discloses these findings in in an online survey of 501 adult Canadian women with children. The survey was conducted by market research firm Pollara between April 25 and April 28, 2014.

Other concerns cited by Canadian mothers include:

● Having enough money to cover household bills and other expenses (67 percent)

● Being able to pay off debt (64 percent)

● Having enough money to pay down their mortgage in their desired timeframe (58 percent)

Despite the advantages of having a financial plan, the BMO Nesbitt Burns study finds, 40 percent of mothers say they or their family do not have a financial plan. The study also finds that 85 percent of moms are concerned about the state of the Canadian economy.

Despite this gloomy outlook, almost 60 percent are upbeat about what the future has in store for the economy. And 44 percent are optimistic that their children will be better off than them financially (versus just 27 percent who feel that they will be worse off).

"It's not surprising that mothers across the country are concerned about saving for retirement and their children's education," says Charyl Galpin, co-head, BMO Nesbitt Burns. "Canadians feel they need, on average, more than $650,000 for retirement, and a post-secondary education may cost as much as $140,000 for a child born in 2013. We're talking about significant amounts of money.”